FOCUS SOCIETY Subhendu Beura
A chaotic traffic system creates mistrust and confusion
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TEXT
When celebrated theoretical physicist Michio Kaku was asked why so many physicists believed in the existence of God, his answer was simple. He replied that scientists are often overwhelmed by the orderliness of the matter from sub atomic particles to the unimaginable universe.
The orderliness provokes intellect and leads us towards the magnanimity of a supreme power that may be called God. If traffic sense in India is considered, there is everything but orderliness. However, the present traffic system reposes our faith in God. Road safety as an issue in India gets front page treatment if the victim is a celebrity or if the number of victims is high, to evoke a sense of empathy. Road accidents in the recent past are an example of a traffic system that has gone wrong somewhere and needs immediate attention so as to control the deaths of so many of us who are neither famous nor popular but are simple human beings.
Statistically, one accident happens a minute in this country and in each 3.7 minutes, an accident victim succumbs to his or her injury. Road accidents are the biggest non-disease killer and form more than the combined numbers of war, terrorism and suicides. Besides, most of the accidents are not reported as involvement of police in its present form only complicates the matter.
In most of the accidents in India, the rule of the road often is to have the driver of the smaller vehicle compensated by the driver of the bigger one involved in the mishap. If sizes are non-comparable, the local people judge and decide who is to be penalized. In a few cases, local people take the law into their hands and mete out “instant justice” to the driver. A chaotic traffic system creates mistrust and confusion.
Ubiquitous honking and road rage are the outcome of such confusion. Roads veering through cities, towns, lanes, gullies and villages are meant to increase the speed of movement. But, the speed is often restricted by multiple use of the road which is at times innovative, ridiculous and dangerous. From drying of food grains, fish and clothes in some areas to parking of vehicles, resting of cattle, chatting with friends, demonstration against a price rise and election campaigning, roads find multiple usages which are generally rare in other parts of the world.
While road safety affects us all, there is very limited awareness in this respect. The only safety awareness taught in school is to stick to the left while on road. Road safety is much more complex and it should be a part of school curriculum.
At the moment, norms for issuing driving licence are so relaxed that, it loses its comportment and creates a lot of semi-trained drivers who are potential threats on the road. As a result, holding an Indian driving licence means little abroad. Looking at the lacunae on this front, licence-providing authorities must be given additional training.
In recent years, there have been major improvements in implementation of the few nonexistent safety regulations. Use of helmets and seat-belts are among them. Use of mobile phones while driving is a more serious offence, but no visible curb is imposed on its use. Use of mobile phone is a causative factor while use of helmets and seatbelts may lessen the intensity of bodily injury and has the potential to minimise fatality after the accident.
Considering the same, a ban on use of mobile phones requires more stringent and immediate action. In most cases, it is seen that, smaller offences like violations of rules on helmets and safety belts are reinforced strictly while more serious offences like driving on the wrong side of the road, taking shortcuts at the cost of the safety of others, driving on footpaths or cycle tracks and breaking signals in the absence of police are overlooked. There should be a mechanism wherein the entire penalty amount is collected at the end of the year during renewal of registration, as is happening in other countries. Registration renewal should be done once every year.
Among the major causes of accidents is the permission given to old vehicles. Annual road worthiness of all the vehicles should be made compulsory after the vehicle life expires — 10 year is a normal lifespan. No vehicle should be allowed to run on road with non-existent tampered number plates. All the number plates should be issued by authorised vendors and should be uniform. In many places, heavy vehicles are banned from plying inside the city during peak hours. Taller vehicles are not allowed to run on high speed tract as visibility of vehicles at the back are disturbed. Similar regulations may be implemented here too.
To make the system more accessible, all the vehicular data must be stored in a central database with the police. So, while tracking any vehicle on random basis, a mobile checking squad can have an idea of the history of the vehicle, and action can be expedited in the event of a road rule violation.
Roads teach us many things. Noteworthy among all is to respect each other’s presence irrespective of the size and type of vehicles.
